Democratic candidates for Senate Amy McGrath and Dale Romans (left) wait before a televised KET debate moderated by Renee Shaw (right).(Shepherd Snyder / WEKU)Among the Democrats attending Monday's KET debate were former state Rep. Charles Booker, former U.S. Marine pilot Amy McGrath and Dale Romans , a horse trainer and president of the Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association. The trio discussed topics like the Iran war, cost of living and health care. All three characterized President Donald Trump as unfit to lead the country. "He's tweeted out that we were going to destroy a civilization," McGrath said, citing a Truth Social post from Trump on the Iran war. "He's doing foreign policy by tweet in the middle of the night. He lies every single day. I mean, he's done, like, 95 lies a day. We can't believe anything that he says, and our allies can't believe anything he says." Booker and McGrath previously ran against each other for McConnell's seat in 2020, with McGrath winning the primary before eventually losing out in the general election. Romans, a first time candidate, characterized himself as an outsider pragmatist who would be willing to work across the aisle. "It doesn't matter if they're still MAGA, but they want to come with a good idea," he said. "We're going to sit down and talk about it, and I'm not just going to slam the door in the face of anybody, because anybody could come up with a good idea, a good program that would help the country." The group mainly differed on health care policy. Booker voiced his support for Medicare for All alongside other progressive causes like universal basic income and universal pre-K. "We need leaders that will not simply tell the people of Kentucky what's not possible, but will actually fight for the change that they are demanding. The majority of Kentuckians understand that health care is a human right, which is why they support policies just like Medicare for All," Booker said. Both McGrath and Romans argued for reform of the health care industry instead. "We live in a system where Democrats aren't always going to be in charge of the White House," McGrath said. "And what have Republicans done every single time they get in government? They undermine the health care. Look at what they did to the Affordable Care Act. They undermine it every single time, and now they're trying to gut it." On the Republican side of the race, former Attorney General Daniel Cameron was the only candidate to accept an invite from KET, with prominent candidates like Rep. Andy Barr and businessman Nate Morris not making appearances.Former Attorney General Daniel Cameron was the only Republican to speak at KET's televised debate Monday night.(Shepherd Snyder / WEKU)Barr's campaign instead characterized KET and PBS as a "left-wing outlet that Andy Barr and President Trump defunded" that "peddled the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX," according to a post from Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Austin Horn. Instead of a debate, Cameron answered questions from moderator Renee Shaw and the viewing audience during a half-hour time slot. He used the time to align with the Trump administration on issues like immigration. "I think we need to fully support and fully fund ICE and CBP to make sure that when it comes to illegals that are here, they have to go back. We've got to start respecting the rule of law in this country," Cameron said. He also characterized the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol as "being in the past," and praised Trump for rooting out "waste, fraud and abuse" in the federal government, as well as his economic agenda. Barr and Morris have vastly outpaced Cameron's campaign on fundraising and spending. Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated $10 million to Nate Morris' campaign earlier this year. Cameron said he's mostly taking money from local donors by comparison. "I've got more Kentucky donors than anyone else in this race, and we feel really good about where we sit right now," Cameron said. "And as I travel the commonwealth and talk to people all across the state, what they care about is a candidate who is focused on them." A recent Emerson poll found Barr is leading the Republican field with 28% voter support, with 21% supporting Cameron, 15% supporting Morris and 29% undecided. Booker leads polling among Democrats with 36% voter support, 18% supporting McGrath, 3% supporting state Rep. Pamela Stevenson and 5% supporting other candidates. In that race, 38% of voters are undecided. Copyright 2026 WEKU ...read more read less